ChinaFocus:China'sMA60firefightingaircraftmovesonestepclosertoobtainingcertification_GuangmingOnlineChinaFocus:China'sMA60firefightingaircraftmovesonestepclosertoobtainingcertificationTheMA60firefightingaircraftconductsthewaterdropoverasimulatedfiresceneduringanemergencyrescuedrillattheZhangheAirportinJingmen,centralChina'sHubeiProvince,Oct.27,2023.China'sindependently-developedMA60firefightingaircraft,anewmemberoftheModernArkmultipurposeaircraftfamily,isprogressingforwardonitsairworthinesscertificationprocess,accordingtotheAviationIndustryCorporationofChina(AVIC).(AviationIndustryCorporationofChina/HandoutviaXinhua)byXinhuawriterHuTaoBEIJING,Dec.20(Xinhua)--China'sindependently-developedMA60firefightingaircraft,anewmemberoftheModernArkmultipurposeaircraftfamily,isprogressingforwardonitsairworthinesscertificationprocess,accordingtotheAviationIndustryCorporationofChina(AVIC).Asanaircraftmodeltailoredtoserveemergencyrescuemissions,MA60successfullycompletedakeytestflight,whichconsistedofhedgehoppinganddroppingsixtonnesofwater,saidtheAVIC,China'sleadingaircraftmanufacturer.Theaircraftsuccessfullyconductedthewaterdropoverthescheduledsiteataverylowaltitudeof55meters.ThetesttookplaceatanairportinsouthwestChina'sSichuanProvince.Thedevelopmentandflight-testteamsundertookaphasedapproachtocarryoutthisflighttest.Theyevalsuatedtheaerialwater-droppingperformanceoftheaircraftbyloadingitwithhalfofitsmaximumwater-carryingcapacityandgraduallyincreasingittoitsfullcapacity.Finally,theywereabletocompletethiskeyflighttestmission.Thissuccessmarkedabreakthroughincoretech-indicatorsofthefirefightingmissionsystemofthisspecial-purposeaircraft.ItisamilestoneoftheMA60firefightingaircraftprojectandlaysasolidfoundationforitsairworthinesscertificationprocess,saidtheAVIC.Thedevelopmentteamwillnowacceleratefollow-upflighttestsfortheaircraft'sairworthinesscomplianceverification,steppingclosertowardsobtainingtheairworthinesscertificationanddeliveringtheaircrafttocustomers,itadded.TheMA60firefightingaircraftisalargeandmedium-sizedfixed-wingplanemodelthatisspeciallytailoredtoserveaerialfirefightingandotheremergencyrescuemissions,enhancingthecountry'semergencyairrescuecapabilities,saidtheAVIC.ItisdevelopedbyAVICXACCommercialAircraftCo.,Ltd.inXi'an,northwestChina'sShaanxiProvince,withindependentintellectualpropertyrights.ItisalsoinfullcompliancewiththeairworthinessregulationsoftheCivilAviationAdministrationofChina.InheritingthematuretechnologiesandadvantagesoftheModernArkaircraftfamily,theMA60firefightingaircraftfeaturesahighcruisingspeed,longrange,flightinlowspeedsatlowaltitudesandgoodreliability.Furthermore,thedeveloperhasimprovedtheaircraft'sfuselage,addedmultiplefunctionalsystems,suchasthoseforwater-droppingandfiremonitoring.Ithasalsomadeaseriesofadaptivechangestothecabinconfiguration,airconditioning,oxygensupplyandmultipleothersystems.Notably,thisnewaircraftmodeliscapableofquicklytransitioningfromfirefightingmissionstotransport.Followingaconvenientconfigurationmodificationatairport,theaircraftcanflexiblycarryoutbothemergencyrescueoperationsandtransporttasksforbothpersonnelandsupplies.Therefore,itwillplayanimportantroleinenhancingtheeffectivenessofdisasterreliefandotheremergencyrescueoperations,accordingtothedeveloper.Thecomprehensiveimprovementsandnewsystemsempowerthenewly-developedMA60firefightingaircrafttocarryoutmultiplerolesinemergencyrescue.Itcaneffectivelyperformmultiplerescueoperations,suchasaerialwaterdropping,airbornetelecommunicationssupport,firepreventionandmonitoring,accordingtothedeveloper.Priortothenewly-developedMA60firefightingmodel,theModernArkfamilyhascultivatedaseriesofaircraftmodels:MA60andMA600turbopropregionalaircraft,civilfreighter,andmultipurposeaircraftmodelsforprecipitationenhancementandotherfields,accordingtothedeveloper.Bynow,morethan100aircraftoftheModernArkfamilyhasbeendeliveredgloballyandservedaround300routesathomeandabroad,accordingtotheAVIC.CrewmembersposeastheMA60firefightingaircraftcompletedakeytestflight,whichconsistedofhedgehoppinganddroppingsixtonnesofwater,inSuining,southwestChina'sSichuanProvince,Dec.9,2023.China'sindependently-developedMA60firefightingaircraft,anewmemberoftheModernArkmultipurposeaircraftfamily,isprogressingforwardonitsairworthinesscertificationprocess,accordingtotheAviationIndustryCorporationofChina(AVIC).(AviationIndustryCorporationofChina/HandoutviaXinhua)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.